Treat Them Like Royalty
Teaching Notes
Kindness: I am kind to others for their sake because God has been kind to me.
Old Testament: Hesed
New Testament: Chrestos
The Story
1 Samuel 20:14-16
But show me unfailing kindness like that of the LORD as long as I live, so that I may not be killed, and do not ever cut off your kindness from my family—not even when the LORD has cut off every one of David’s enemies from the face of the earth.” So Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David, saying, “May the LORD call David’s enemies to account.”
1 Samuel 20:14-16
2 Samuel 9:
David asked, “Is there anyone still left of the house of Saul to whom I can show kindness for Jonathan’s sake?
Now there was a servant of Saul’s household named Ziba. They called him to appear before David, and the king saidk to him, “Are you Ziba?” “Your servant,” he replied.
The king asked, “Is there no one still left of the house of Saul to whom I can show God’s kindness?” (note that it’s God’s kindness inside David that is being offered) Ziba answered the king, “There is still a son of Jonathan; he is crippled in both feet.”
“Where is he?” the king asked. Ziba answered, “He is at the house of Makir son of Ammiel in Lo Debar.”
So King David had him brought from Lo Debar, from the house of Makir son of Ammiel.
When Mephibosheth son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, came to David, he bowed down to pay him honor. David said, “Mephibosheth!” Your servant,” he replied.
“Don’t be afraid,” David said to him, “for I will surely show you kindness for the sake of your father Jonathan. I will restore to you all the land that belonged to your grandfather Saul, and you will always eat at my table.”
Mephibosheth bowed down and said, “What is your servant, that you should notice a dead dog like me?”
Then the king summoned Ziba, Saul’s servant, and said to him, “I have given your master’s grandson everything that belonged to Saul and his family.
You and your sons and your servants are to farm the land for him and bring in the crops, so that your master’s grandson may be provided for. And Mephibosheth, grandson of your master, will always eat at my table.” (Now Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants.”
Then Ziba said to the king, “Your servant will do whatever my lord the king commands his servants to do.” So Mephibosheth ate at David’s table like one of the king’s sons.
Mephibosheth had a young son named Mica, and all the members of Ziba’s household were servants of Mephibosheth.
And Mephibosheth lived in Jerusalem, because he always ate at the king’s table, and he was crippled in both feet.
2 Samuel 9:1-13
Application
I am proactive & intentional about showing kindness to others.
I give my best, not my leftovers, when I show kindness.
When David had gone a short distance beyond the summit, there was Ziba, the steward of Mephibosheth, waiting to meet him. He had a string of donkeys saddled and loaded with two hundred loaves of bread, a hundred cakes of raisins, a hundred cakes of figs and a skin of wine.
The king asked Ziba, “Why have you brought these?” Ziba answered, “The donkeys are for the king’s household to ride on, the bread and fruit are for the men to eat, and the wine is to refresh those who become exhausted in the desert.”
The king then asked, “Where is your master’s grandson?” Ziba said to him, “He is staying in Jerusalem, because he thinks, ‘Today the house of Israel will give me back my grandfather’s kingdom.’”
Then the king said to Ziba, “All that belonged to Mephibosheth is now yours.” “I humbly bow,” Ziba said. “May I find favor in your eyes, my lord the king.”
2 Samuel 16:1-4
Kindness backfires sometimes – show kindness anyway.
Mephibosheth, Saul’s grandson, also went down to meet the king. He had not taken care of his feet or trimmed his mustache or washed his clothes from the day the king left until the day he returned safely.
When he came from Jerusalem to meet the king, the king asked him, “Why didn’t you go with me, Mephibosheth?”
He said, “My lord the king, since I your servant am lame, I said, ‘I will have my donkey saddled and will ride on it, so I can go with the king.’ But Ziba my servant betrayed me.
And he has slandered your servant to my lord the king. My lord the king is like an angel of God; so do whatever pleases you.
All my grandfather’s descendants deserved nothing but death from my lord the king, but you gave your servant a place among those who eat at your table. So what right do I have to make any more appeals to the king?”
The king said to him, “Why say more? I order you and Ziba to divide the fields.”
Mephibosheth said to the king, “Let him take everything, now that my lord the king has arrived home safely.”
2 Samuel 19:24-30
Going Deeper
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
1 Corinthians 13:4
Randy shares a wonderful story of kindness from the Old Testament from King David to Mephibosheth. This is a story of kindness given without expectation. The lame grandson of king soul would never be able to reciprocate the extravagant kindness shown to him. This story is a kind of foreshadowing of the kindness that Jesus shows you and I.
1. From the verses in First Corinthians above, describe how Jesus embodies that love towards humans. How has he shown that love to you specifically?
2. In the story Randy shares, the lame grandson of David's enemy Saul is completely incapable of returning the favor. How does this illustrate our relationship with Christ? What posture should that provoke in our own hearts?
3. In the story with David it appears that his generosity is taken advantage of. Even so, David still gifts Mephibosheth extravagantly. Does Jesus still love us when it is unappreciated or even rejected? How hard is it for us to do the same? How do the verses above guide us to love people who may even be taking advantage of our kindness?
Sunday Set List
WFC Lenexa + WFC Anywhere
Every Beat- North Point Worship
Carried to the Table- Leeland
Reign Above it All- Bethel Music
See a Victory- Elevation Worship
WFC Speedway
Rattle- Elevation Worship
Too Good To Not Believe- Brandon Lake
Don’t Tread On Me- We the Kingdom
Holy Water- We The Kingdom
Be sure to save our Spotify Worship Playlist, updated weekly with the upcoming Sunday’s set!